


12 + 1 = 1 x 2

by Custom_Key, Gemma Winchester (PrincessGemma12)



Category: Goosebumps (2015), Goosebumps - All Media Types, Goosebumps: The Game (Video Game 2015), Kingdom Hearts (Video Games), My Little Pony: Equestria Girls
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Cussing, Dark Magic, Demons, Demons Are Assholes, Dolls, F/M, Gen, Good Demons, Human/Monster Romance, Ink Monster Logic, Keyblades (Kingdom Hearts), LGBTQ Character, LGBTQ Themes, Magic, Make that plural, Mentioned Sora (Kingdom Hearts), Mild Blood, Minor Injuries, Minor Violence, One-Side Ashley Glover/Literally Everyone In Sight, Platonic Flirting, Reincarnation, Vanitas Swears (Kingdom Hearts), Weird Fluff, Weird Plot Shit, magic needs no logic, monster logic will not be explained in detail or with logic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-22
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-03-13 14:46:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,718
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28905078
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Custom_Key/pseuds/Custom_Key, https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrincessGemma12/pseuds/Gemma%20Winchester
Summary: “Goosebumps (2015) told our way, with a sprinkle of friendship and some Keyblades!” - Custom_Key, while writing this synopsis.“By far the weirdest but most interesting crossover idea I’ve ever entertained, and the only one I’ve sat down to write so far.” - Gemma Winchester (PrincessGemma12), while writing this synopsis.What if Sunset Shimmer was connected to Kingdom Hearts? What if, in an attempt to reach a dear friend, she stumbles through a portal to the wrong world, just as the magic within a close-by town is getting ready to erupt? How will this change her? Perhaps more importantly, how will it change the world she’s stumbled into, and the people living in it?
Relationships: Dennis the Dummy & Hannah Stine, Dennis the Dummy & Rocky the Dummy, Dennis the Dummy/Original Female Character(s), Hannah Fairchild | Hannah Stine/Zach Cooper, Slappy the Dummy & Hannah Stine, Slappy the Dummy/Original Female Character(s), Sunset Shimmer & Original Female Character(s), Zach Cooper & Champ





	1. Pilot

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, guys, Gemma here! I'd like to thank you for reading this weird fic ahead of time, and also let you know that, yes, the first scene IS a rewrite of chapter six of the movie novelization (the first theme park sequence).
> 
> Also, don't mind the joke that is this chapter's title, we think we're funny but I know we're not THAT funny. XD

###  **1**

Hannah wouldn’t tell him where they were going, but Zach followed her anyway. Down the block, around the corner, and down an extremely unlit street that dead-ended in an overgrown grove of trees.

“Are you taking me somewhere to kill me?” Zach joked. Well, mostly joked. “I’m just curious.”

“I’m playing it by ear,” Hannah replied, grinning around a tree.

Zach watched as she disappeared behind the trunk, and tried to follow, but she had disappeared, leaving him alone in the dark night.

“Yes, Zach… follow the stranger into the woods,” he muttered, taking cautious steps after the stranger, deeper into the woods.

He rounded another tree, then another, and another. Before long, she was back in sight, sliding beneath a rusty old fence. Slipping beneath the corroded metal, Zach gasped as the other side was revealed to him: an amusement park. Or… parts of one. A very, very old, worn-down one.

Hannah flipped a power switch hidden in the dirt and leaves, and the place lit up. It reminded him of going to the circus with his father, and he smiled sadly, gazing around at the lights and the pieces of metal that were still reflective. Many of the bulbs were burnt out, and most of the working ones flickered and strobed, but there was more than enough light for them to see: see the rusted metal lamp posts and the face of a creepy funhouse, the spokes of the towering Ferris Wheel and its tattered carts. The rides were creaky and rusted over, but Zach could tell that once, perhaps a very long, long time ago, this place had been something amazing.

“They started building it years ago,” Hannah explained, “but ran out of money. Now… it just sits here.” she had a pensive smile on her face, gazing up at the Wheel.

An entire amusement park that no one had ever used--no one, that is, but Hannah. It felt like some sort of violation, a crime against the laws of the world. Zach wondered how such a thing could happen: a whole collection of rides and games that were just waiting for a family to enjoy them. All those fun-house rooms, empty but echoing with the laughter of invisible children as if haunted by ghosts. He shook the thought away and stepped just a little closer to where she was standing bathed in the yellow lights of the Ferris Wheel.

It was brighter where she stood, and light, he felt, was the only escape from the park’s theoretical ghosts.

Hannah hopped a rusty turnstile and headed straight for the Ferris Wheel. Then, as if such a thing were acceptable for young people to do, she started to climb.

Zach briefly considered leaving, but then she spoke: “I come here all the time, what are you afraid of?”

Well… “I’m not afraid,” he insisted, though he was, just a little. “I’m, uh, just not current with my tetanus shot…”

The Ferris Wheel was studded with rusted nails and bolts--you could probably get tetanus just from looking at the thing. Hannah was already half-way to the top.

“So? What’s a little gangrene?” he asked himself. Then he followed her up. 

It wasn't a very hard climb, but it was a long one and Zach’s arms were aching by the time they made it to the top. But Zach thought it was worth it all for the view. The town was spread out beneath them like a bunch of doll houses twinkling with lights. From up there, it almost looked like civilization.

“You can see everything from up here,” Zach said in awe. He could see why Hannah loved it so much. Up there, so close to the sky, the quiet didn’t bother him as much. Also, Zach had to admit, there was one good thing about being out in the middle of nowhere: you could see the stars.

He’d almost forgotten what that was like, to look up at a sky sparkling with the light of all those faraway suns. He wished that he could stay atop the Ferris Wheel forever.

“So, why’d you move to Madison?” Hannah asked.

“My mom said to me: ‘Zach, if you could go anywhere in the world, where would it be?’ And I said, ‘Mom, could we _please_ move to Madison, Delaware, that’s my dream.’”

She didn’t smile. “Are you always this sarcastic?”

“Always? Not always-- _usually_.” Zach quipped.

He didn’t know if it was the place or the girl, but something about that night made it okay to tell the truth. Not just okay--necessary.

“It’s just been my mom and I since my dad died last year,” Zach confided. “So, yeah.”

“Sorry,” she said, and Zach got the feeling she understood everything he was saying and everything he wasn’t. Like how it was easier to be sarcastic than it was to be real. Because being real meant saying things that hurt. How not feeling anything was easier than feeling _something_ , when that _something_ was so huge and so sad.

“I don’t really think about it too much anymore.” That was a lie, but he had a feeling she knew that. They both just pretended to believe it. “What about you?”

“I never knew my mom,” she said sadly, “and my dad and I are always moving from one town to the next.”

“That really sucks,” Zach responded.

They sat there together without talking, but it was the good kind of quiet. The kind where you both know you’re thinking about the same thing. It felt good, Zach thought, not having to explain himself or pretend things were okay when they weren’t. But it couldn’t last forever.

“Hannah, can I ask you something,” Zach asked finally. She nodded. “How do we get down?” he looked down to the ground, pinching his brows together in a look of mock dismay.

Hannah laughed, then joked, “You can’t. We’re stuck.”

At the end of the night, Zach almost wished they really hadn’t been able to climb down. Perhaps it would have made it easier to get to sleep later.

###  **2**

The next morning, on the outskirts of town, a family of six rises to greet the day. It’s early, almost seven, but none of the five children have school to attend to--they’ve all been there, dealt with that, and have no interest in continuing it. No reason to, either.

Instead, as the sun begins to gleam through the windows into their rooms, they stretch and begin thinking immediately of other, much more enjoyable tasks: how to care for their small collection of animals, and children.

On the first floor in the master bedroom, Jesse Knotter prepares herself for the day’s difficulties: there will be bruises, as there are everyday, and there will no doubt be some sort of fight between two or more members of her family. Having as many teenagers as she did guaranteed that, regardless of their… unique circumstances. That was one of the reasons she handled the dog, Clover, while her charges took to the horse, cattle, and two chickens.

On the second floor, there are two bedrooms: one belonging to Janet and Jennifer Knotter, Twin Sisters of Unending Shenanigans (quoth their older sister). They rise with matching yawns to don un-matched attire: Jennifer (Jen or Jenny to her friends) prefers a slightly frayed graphic T-shirt with a Minecraft creeper on it, and the most comfortable pair of jeans she has clean, while Janet (Jane for short) pulls on a nicer, but still work-appropriate, light pink blouse and not-completely-worn-in jeans. Their responsibility is the chickens, whom they refer lovingly to as Missy and Sissy.

The second bedroom belongs to Jet Jenson, one of two adoptees in the house. Similarly to Jen, he chooses the most comfortable outfit he can reasonably wear, including a fuzzy pair of pink socks he pilfered from Jesse two winters ago when the power cut out. To this day, she wonders when he will return them. He is to attend to their cow Daisy--unfortunately for Daisy, who is by far the most impatient being on their property, this means Jet will have to milk her. Jet does not excel at this task.

On the top floor, the attic, really, are two more beds. One belongs to Ashley Grover, the second adoptee, and the other to Allison Knotter (technically speaking, her name is Allison Olivia Knotter-Crow the Second, but no one talks about that). Friends call them Ash and Alice. Ashley, for several moments, contemplates _not_ getting dressed, and simply going about her day in her pajamas. Alice, ever the proper young lady (except, occasionally, when she gets into her mother’s whiskey), insists that this would not be an appropriate course of action.

“Those are brand new pajamas.”

“So what?”

Alice huffs. “They’ll get ruined.”

“I’m just taking care of Butternut. What’s gonna ruin them?” Ashley demands, stretching.

“What if Butternut goes into labor and you have to deliver the baby?” Alice asked smartly, nose in the air.

Butternut is the _other_ cow, and she is pregnant with what the entire family is hoping will be a healthy baby girl. They could really use the extra milk when she’s grown. Alice, as you’ve likely deduced, is on horse duty.

“That’s… a really good point, yeah, alright. Pull me out a pair of leggings, will ya’?”

With those words, the entire family is up, dressing, going to eat, brush teeth and hair, and set out for their animals--except, of course, Jesse, as Clover is what one might consider to be a “Couch Potato” dog. Therefore, the mother and canine will be observing from the living room’s finest window seat--observing the ongoings of Jesse’s favorite television series _Blue Bloods_ , that is.

Thankfully for the animals, she has no reason to believe or worry that the rest of her charges (i.e., the other animals) will not be taken care of properly or lovingly. Alice and Jane will ensure that no creature is neglected or forgotten in the rush of an exciting game of Dragons vs. Aliens--this has been proven in the past, on multiple occasions.

Therefore, by the time noon hits, each non-human charge has been fed, watered appropriately, and in one dog’s case, given her vitamins. After lunch’s rush of hungry teenagers seeking any and every food they can get their hands on, Jesse can settle down for her own meal.

That is, at least, what she thought. This proved to be false when a shriek of terror sounded from outside.

Outside, where her children were.

Outside, away from her.

Outside, where all the bad things in her life happened.

Outside, because _it’s always outside, isn’t it, Jess?_ ****

###  **3**

After lunch, as they normally do, the kids piled themselves onto the grass of their backyard--outside the fenced in portion where Clover does her business, of course. Normally, they would all be talking at once, reciting memes, jokes, in some case Vines--having a good laugh. Today, however, they were silent for several minutes. Something was off, they all could feel it, but none of them knew (more importantly, none of them particularly _wanted_ to know) what.

“Jenny, can you please go grab my book off my desk?” Alice asked suddenly, rising from her prone position on the grass to walk over to their little apple tree. “I wanna try something. Jane, come here, please.”

Jen, never one to do things slowly, rushed inside and did as her sister requested. She returned to find Alice and Jane standing opposite each other in front of the tree, feet sliding over the grass in front of them repeatedly, forcing it away to reveal the hidden dirt.

“What are guys doing?” Jet asked sleepily from where he’d propped himself against the wooden fence.

“Yeah, what _are_ you doing?” Jennifer demanded, handing over the thick leather-bound tome she’d retrieved.

“Seeing how quickly I can get to Anna and Rob’s if something ever happens.” Alice explained softly, leafing through the book. “I just hope I can do this right.”

She found the page she was searching for, and held the book in one hand, away from her body, to read what she had printed there so many years ago.

###  **4**

Sunset Shimmer was sitting outside Canterlot High School, the book she uses to talk to Princess Twilight sitting in her lap. It had been three days since she realised that her dreams were actually memories and less than a day since she summoned the Kingdom Key. She wasn’t sure what to do anymore. On one hand she wanted to throw it all to the wind and just focus on what her and the Rainbooms already had going on. But on the other hand she knew that no matter what she did, something from _his_ life would catch up to her. She was stuck between a rock and a hard place, and needed Princess Twilight’s help. The book glowed as she opened it, words magically appearing on the page as the princess responded to Sunset’s request for advice.

“Hey, Sunset,” Princess Twilight said through the page. “It sounds like you’ve had a crazy week so far. While I don’t know anything about these ‘Keyblades,’ I'm sure I could find something in the library. As for what exactly you should do, I have no idea. I’m not really good at giving non-friendship advice, but I’m sure that Princess Celestia would be more than happy to help.”

Sunset froze for a moment, not sure how to respond. While she knew that Princess Celestia wasn’t mad at her anymore and that Twilight had put in a good word about her, she wasn’t sure if she was ready to face her former mentor again.

“Hey, Twilight,” Sunset responded, “I appreciate the thought of looking through your library, but I remember everything that _he_ knew about the Keyblades. As for Princess Celestia--” Sunset stopped, unsure of how to continue. She wanted to see her mentor again, but she was still scared of how Celestia would respond to seeing her again. “--maybe it’s time I finally saw her again and confronted the past.”

“That’s good Sunny,” Princess Twilight responded. “I think that it would be good for you to reconnect with some of the people you knew here in Equestria, so why not strat with Princess Celestia? Wait five minutes and I’ll have the portal ready for you to come through.”

“Okay, see you soon,” Sunset responded with a smile.

Sunset sat on the steps of the school for five minutes, passing the time on TikTok.

“Looks like the five minute wait is over,” Sunset said while checking the time.

Sunset walked down the steps and stood before the runed statue, ready to go through the portal.

“This is it,” Sunset said to herself, “time to face--” Sunset didn’t finish the thought, not wanting to bring up old memories.

She stepped through the portal, ready to turn back into her original form. However, something happened, and rather than almost immediately appearing in Princess Twilight’s castle, she was falling. She couldn’t see where she was or what was around her, only that there was a very bad feeling in her gut.

Before long, Sunset hit the ground hard, her head spinning.

“What the heck happened?’ Sunset asked herself while looking up.

She found herself face to face with a group of teens around her age, though two of them looked a little younger than her.

“This is not Equestria.”


	2. Everybody Talks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mostly filler and dialogue, but there's some important stuff in here. Next one will start up on the plot! - Gemma <3

###  **1**

The portal opened just as it was supposed to, just as Alice had planned. It _looked_ like she was expecting, like it had the last time she’d opened it: a tall, pulsing violet doorway with bubbles of a deeper plum color floating inside of it. The edges of it shimmered. The only difference was the location, right? The last time, she’d been at Gran’s and the portal opened at Rob’s. Now, she was outside of Madison, Delaware, trying to open a portal to Rob’s place _in_ Madison, Delaware. Easy-peasy, no problem, everything was already working fine.

Then a girl stepped through. Well… _fell through_.

Jane was so surprised that she shrieked, and even Ashley took a few steps back.

The girl had pale orange skin, light aqua blue eyes, and red and yellow hair. She wore black heeled boots (Ashley couldn’t help but notice the number of _studs_ on them, it was _sick_ ), a purple skirt, a dark orange T-shirt with a red and yellow sun design, and a black leather vest overtop. A peculiar necklace hung around her neck: it had an orange chain with a red geode hanging from it. An orange sun sat in the center of it. She looked as if she was in her teens.

“This is not Equestria.” the girl stated, pointing out the obvious. Alice didn’t have the slightest idea where Equestria was--or even _what_ it was (maybe a city?)--but she did know that she was about to be in _a lot of trouble_.

“Dangit,” she sighed, eyeing the now clearly unstable portal with disdain. It _was not_ supposed to be bulging out on either side like that. It was a _doorway_ , not a bubble in a kids’ play place in a McDonald’s. She closed it quickly, not wanting a rerun of the _first time_ she opened a portal. “Why don’t these things ever do what they’re supposed to?” she asked no one.

The girl stood up, clearly disoriented. “Where am I, this isn’t home,” she said to herself.

“No duh, Sherlock.” Ashley snarked, crossing her arms defensively.

This earned her a glare from the stranger. “Really?”

“‘Really’ _what_?” the redhead snapped, eyes flashing dangerously. Alice realized that she needed to move quickly. Nothing good ever happened when Ashley got into a verbal argument with someone.

Stepping in front of her friend, Alice clasped her hands peacefully in front of herself. “Hi, don’t mind her, she’s grumpy.” she chirped, smiling apologetically.

“Don’t worry about it, she’s not the first grumpy person I’ve met and won't be the last.” the stranger replied with a small smile.

Ashley snorted, but Alice decided to pretend she hadn’t heard. “I’m Allison--” she stuck out a hand--“and you are?”

“I’m Sunset Shimmer,” the red/yellow-haired girl said while shaking Allison’s hand, “but most people just call me Sunset. Who are they?” Sunset asked gesturing to the others while releasing Allison’s hand.

Alice looked around at her strange family. “Short answer: my quote-un-quote ‘chosen family.’ Long answer? Ashley--” she jerked a thumb over her shoulder--“Jet and Jennifer--” she pointed toward the two redheads--“and Janet,” she waved a hand toward the younger girl. “Janet and Jen are my sisters; Jet and Ash are the siblings we _should have had_. My mom’ll be out here soon, no doubt.”

“What do you mean ‘siblings you should have had?’” Sunset asked, confusion clear on her face.

Alice’s hands dropped, her face pinching as if in pain. She sighed sadly. “It’s… _complicated_ . They’re not my, er, ‘real’ siblings, but… they’re as much my family as Jen and Jane are. They _should’ve_ been our siblings.”

Sunset had to think for a moment before realizing exactly what Alice meant. “Oh, they're your adoptive siblings.”

Ashley flinched from her spot behind Alice. Jet reacted similarly.

“Not… I mean…” Alice cringed, shrugged, then wrapped her arms around herself. “Pretty much. Right idea. Yeah…”

“Hey, if you guys are uncomfortable talking about it, just say so, I don’t want to upset anyone,” Sunset said with a smile. “There’s no reason to talk about something you don’t want to talk about.”

Jet giggled nervously, watching something over the fence. “Uh, sure,” he muttered, crossing his arms. “Let’s just leave that at that.”

Sunset nodded her head in agreement. “Then I have a question: where the heck am I?”

“Just outside of Madison, Delaware,” Jane answered cautiously, eyeing her with barely concealed distrust. “How’d you get here?”

“To answer your question, I have no idea. I went through a portal that was supposed to take me home, but instead, I wound up here in--you said, ‘Madison, Delaware?’”

Jesse, a short woman with hair almost identical in color to that of Felicia Day, something she was justly proud of, chose that moment to walk through the fence’s gate. What she saw made her pause, but only because there was a stranger practically encircled by her passive-aggressive children. Unfortunately, the fact that she didn’t know this girl was the oddest part--her strangely-colored skin would go utterly unnoticed for some time.

“What, and I cannot emphasize this _enough_ , the _hell_ is going on here?” she demanded, hands raised in a “Why me?” gesture. “ _Who_ are you?”

Sunset looked at the woman for a moment before saying, “My name is Sunset Shimmer. I’m guessing you are their mother?”

“I’m proud to say that I am,” Jesse sighed, her narrowed eyes suggesting that, while indeed proud, she _might_ wish she wasn’t now and again. “Well, Ms. Shimmer, welcome to our humble abode. I’m guessing you’re here on accident, not business, leisure, or for the sake of tourism, yes?”

“Correct, I was on my way through a portal home, but something went wrong and I ended up here instead.”

Nodding slowly, the mother took in the young girl’s state of being. She wasn’t visibly hurt or ill, so that was a plus. “Come on inside, I’ll make you a sandwich and we can talk.” with that, she strolled back into the house, not a glance behind her to see if the younger woman listened or not.

Sunset hesitated, not entirely sure if she could trust these people. However, she decided that it was probably her best choice, so she followed.

###  **2**

“Okay, so let me get this straight.” Ashley sighed, scrubbing a hand down her face. Her head hurt, and judging by the grimace on most of her company’s faces, most of their heads hurt, too. “You’re from a different, what? World? Dimension? With a city called ‘Canterlot?’”

“World, and yes,” Sunset replied.

“You were trying to go to _a different_ other world--not this one--to get help from a friend.” Alice continued, hoping to everything magical and mythical--and possibly real--creature in existence that they were all understanding properly. “Something happened with our portals and you ended up _here_ , in Madison, instead.”

“That’s correct,” Sunset responded, “though I don’t get _how_ your portal affected mine.”

Alice thought for a moment, contemplating what she knew about her magic and the magic that created her. “I think… I don’t even _know_ , good Lord.” she sighed, wrapping her arms over her eyes as if trying to hug herself. “Maybe… the vibrations? Energy waves or something? The phase of the moon? Ma, what phase are we in?” She uncovered her face and sat up straighter, trying to read the calendar hung on the fridge.

“I don’t think it’s as complicated as that, dear,” Jesse reassured, stroking a hand down her back. “I think it was more likely a sort of ‘freak accident’ like what happened in Chicago a few years back.”

“I agree,” Sunset began, “the portal was made to only be a doorway to two worlds: Equestria and the human world I was in. Also, it only opens every thirty moons, a month, unless my friend opens it using a special machine she made, mixed with magic. So it was probably just a magical fluke of some kind.”

The family nodded, slightly out of sync. Alice had a crease between her brows, and her lips were pursed in thought. Her mother asked what she was thinking.

“I think…” the blonde sighed again, more loudly this time. Her green eyes flashed, a purplish sheen sweeping over them briefly before she bawled her fists and it was gone. “We should call Robert, have him come help us out. He knows the most about the typewriters, and you know the most about magic in…” she hesitated, glancing at their guest. “Well, you know. You three could probably figure out how to get Sunset back home before anyone from town comes around.”

“What the heck do typewriters have to do with anything and who is Robert?” Sunset asked with a confused look. “I thought that this was all magic-related?”

Ashley, Jet, and the twins shot a disbelieving look at their sister, wondering not for the first time if she was truly and completely out of her head. At any rate, Jet knew better than anyone, Alice was the most scatterbrained person to ever walk this plane of existence.

Blushing feverishly in her embarrassment, Alice ducked her head. “Sorry,” she mumbled, not meeting her mother’s eyes. “I didn’t mean to say that.”

“Okay, look,” Sunset started, “if you guys don’t want to tell me about what these typewriters have to do with anything, fine. But if you lie to me about it, I will know and will get the truth out of you myself.”

Jesse glared at the younger woman. “I suggest you watch your words,” she stated not unkindly. “Sometimes it can be difficult to tell how someone will take what you say to them, even if that way isn’t how you meant them. I doubt you meant that as a threat, but they sounded like one. Alright, sweetie?”

“First, please don’t call me ‘sweetie,’ my name is Sunset; and second, it was a threat. There is very little that I absolutely _hate_ and a lie is one of those things. So if you don’t want to tell me about something, fine but don’t lie about it by saying it’s not important or something it isn’t. Just giving you a heads up ahead of time.”

Ashley’s eye twitched, the bright blue of her irises fading to white before they turned a shimmering gold. “ _Excuse--_ ”

“Ashley, take the girls upstairs. _Now_.” Jesse demanded, crossing her legs and readjusting in her seat.

“But--”

“ _Now._ ” Jesse reiterated, leaving no room for argument. Once Ashley had done as told (fortunately, Jenny didn’t try to use the “But we’re _big girls, MOM_ ” lecture), the mother turned her attention back to Sunset. “I am going to say something I get the feeling you’re not going to like, Miss Sunset: I am a very tolerant woman. I take aggression from others very calmly and I do my best to look at the world with other peoples’ perspectives in mind. _However_ ,” she stopped to take a calming breath. “I am a _mother_ . I don’t know if you realized that, Miss Sunset; you are speaking to me and my _children_ . I don’t know how protective _your parents_ are--I’m sure they love you very much and would do anything for you--but I am _very, very_ protective of my children.

“You will not come into _my house_ , sit in front of _my children_ , and threaten me--much _less_ threaten my _children_ \--without consequences. That said, I am not a violent person--nor would I ever wish to harm a guest. Please leave my house. There is a little cottage down the road--on our property--that you can stay in, no charge, but you _will not_ stay under the same roof as my children if that is how you are going to speak to them. I don’t know how old you are, Miss, but my children are _children_ . Not one of them is over seventeen. If you want something explained, _ask_ . Do _not_ threaten my family. _That_ is a _warning_.”

Sunset took a calming breath before saying: “Okay, I’m sorry for threatening you guys; lying is just a big thing for me and my friends and I have a short temper--sometimes I go a little overboard. I get that you’re a mother, but to be honest I didn’t realize that mothers were that protective. And as for my age, I’m seventeen. If you don’t want me in the house with your kids fine, but I am sorry. I just want to know what’s going on, without being lied to cause I can tell you guys aren't telling me something. And please, for the love of all things, _please_ , never mention my parents, _ever_.”

Jesse could see the pain in Sunset’s eyes. There was regret, and sorrow, and anger. It made her feel sick to her stomach. How many times had she seen that look on her children? On Alice and Jet, and Jennifer? Even Hannah wore that look at one point. It made her heart break.

“Sunset, honey--no, not ‘honey,’ I’m sorry--just ‘Sunset.’ Sunset, it’s okay. I forgive you--this time; I expect better from you in the future, alright? But I understand. Ashley has a bad temper, too. I’m used to it, and I understand it. We have…” Jesse sighed, choosing her words carefully. “ _Not told you_ a few things. You’re completely correct there. We haven’t lied to you, though--honestly, there wouldn’t be a _point_ in us lying to you about anything, anyway. You came through a _magic portal_ , after all.”

“Okay, thank you and I promise I won’t threaten you guys again. And I know you haven't lied to me, but seeing you guys tiptoe around stuff and then Alice mentioning typewriters, and all of you just looking at her like she did something wrong made me think a lie was coming. As I said, lies are kind of a big deal with me and my friends, so while I shouldn’t have put it the way I did, I wanted to make it clear that I would be able to tell if you did lie. And that I’d find the truth anyways.”

Jesse and her two remaining children listened compassionately. With a girl like Ashley in their family, they were more than used to such plights as Sunset’s. She and Ash were remarkably similar. Probably _too_ similar. Jesse stood. “I’m going to go upstairs and get the girls--especially Ashley--ready to be civil and social again.” she clasped her hands and smiled at Sunset. “Jet’s going to go out to the cottage and get the bedding from there for you. We don’t have a guest room or air mattresses, but the sofa is a pull-out, so all you need is blankets and pillows. Alice is going to explain some things to you, alright?”

“Okay, thank you,” Sunset said with a small smile. She was a little on edge about conversing with Ash but realized it was inevitable. She just has to remember _not_ to make the other girl angry.

“It’ll be fine, I promise,” Jesse reassured her. “Alice is very level-headed--a little scatterbrained and dipsy, but level-headed nonetheless.”

“Hey now!” Alice squeaked indigently.

“She’s not wrong, Al.”

“Jet, shut up!”

“Anyway!” Jesse clapped once to prevent further bickering. “A word of caution for _both of you_ , though: choose your words carefully, but be honest. If you’re not comfortable sharing something, say so and don’t share it. Is everyone in agreement?”

“Sounds good to me,” Sunset said, trying not to laugh at the family’s bickering. _They kind of reminded me of Applejack and Rarity for a second._

“Yes, ma’am.” Alice and Jet said in unison, the latter rising to retrieve the requested bedding.

“Alright. Then I’ll be back down in a little while.” Jesse then disappeared up the stairs. She could faintly be heard calling the other three girls, but the sound faded quickly.

“Okay, so what do you have to explain to me?” Sunset asked with a smile, still laughing internally.

“Well…” the blonde sighed, wringing her hands in her lap. “I guess I should start with this: me and my siblings are not human. Mama is, but we’re not.”

“Okay,” Sunset said simply, no sign of being even slightly freaked out or unnerved on her face.

“As I’m sure you can imagine, we don’t give that information out to just anyone. That’s why when I mentioned the typewriters, my family kind of…” she waved her hands in a vague ‘they blew up’ gesture. “We have a bit of an unspoken rule not to tell people about the typewriters without ‘clan approval’ first.” she paused, watching her guest’s face for signs of anger.

“Okay, that makes sense.”

“Yeah. But, uh, the typewriters.” Alice huffed, trying to ignore the nagging voice in the back of her head. “So, my mom’s a writer. She wrote this unpublished book series a long time ago. It’s about this group of teenagers, and basically, all three of them are turned into these demon doll things. One of them--the main protagonist--has two little sisters--twins--that were born with magic. In these books, magic is hereditary, so they got it from their mom. One of the twins gets turned into a werewolf in the second or third book, I can’t remember which.” she shrugged, shaking her head in exasperation. “The second and third kind of blend together.”

“Books coming to life; not the weirdest thing I’ve heard of,” Sunset said with a smirk.

Alice gawked at her, then smiled sheepishly. “Yeah… I, uh, guess you know who the demon dolls are then, huh?”

“Yep. You, Ash, and Jet are the demon dolls and Jane and Jen are the witches. Honestly, I figured none of you were human after Ash’s eyes changed color earlier. Also, if it makes you feel better about me knowing, I’m not human either.”

“You’re not? I mean, I got that you were _magical_ but, I didn’t want to assume you were… ya’ know?” she waved around again, grinning despite the tension she felt in her gut. Something was going to happen, she knew it. If only it would hurry up.

…Or wait until they got Sunset home.

“Yep. Remember how I said I was trying to go through a portal to visit a friend of mine from another world? Well, I’m _originally_ from that other world. In that world, everyone is either a pony, unicorn, pegasus, dragon, griffin or some other creature that is _not_ human. My magic comes from Equestria, via magic leaking through the portal and finding its way into the geode around my neck.”

 _Fascinating!_ “That sounds--God, that sounds _incredible_ !” Alice exclaimed. “Technically speaking, only the _characters_ from the books come to life--and only a few of them,” she said sadly. “Me and my siblings are some of the only ones from our series and it has… God, I don’t even _know_ how many books my mom wrote us into. Our magic is from the typewriter--from the books, I guess. Our friend, Robert, has the other typewriter--it does the same thing. He should be able to help us get you home without any other humans finding out.” _That would be bad… Very,_ very _bad._

 **_Would it_ ** **really** **_, though?_ **

“Yeah, the fewer people that know I’m here, the better. Anything else I should know?”

Alice pondered this question for a moment. She didn’t know how much to tell her about the _other_ characters, or if she should mention them at all. _There’s not really any point to it, right?_ She thought. _I mean… they’re all locked away in the attic… The others are at Rob’s, probably tucked away and out of reach._ She shook her head slowly. “No, I don’t think so,” she said at last, only slightly uncertain. She tapped her chin as she thought. “I guess I should warn you about Ripper and Adsila, but they’re mostly harmless.”

“As much as it pains me, almost no one is harmful to me anymore, so even if they weren’t harmless I wouldn't worry too much,” Sunset said, feeling that if asked, she could trust Alice.

Alice giggled nervously, cringing at the other girls’ perceived naivety. “Yeah, uh, I don’t know about _that_ . You might very well be right--if they weren’t _literally_ made out of ink. There’s no… we can’t…” she struggled briefly to find the right words, and spit them out. “I don’t know any way to get rid of an ink monster. I don’t think anyone does, and they can do a lot more harm than one might imagine.” As hard as she tried, she couldn’t quite keep the pain out of her voice.

“I’ve faced monsters _literally_ made from negativity and the evil within people’s hearts, I think I would, at the very least, tire them out enough to leave me alone.”

**_Let her think that. It’ll be fun to watch her get proved wrong one day._ **

_Shut up, shut up, shut UP, Violetta!_

“…Right…” Alice agreed calmly, trying to keep the doubt off her face and out of her voice. She wasn’t sure if she succeeded or not. “It really depends on which one it is, I guess. Some _are_ more durable than others.”

Sunset’s brow furrowed in concentration. _What is up with her?_ “Are you alright? You seem like something is bugging you?”

Alice blinked at her slowly for a moment. There was a lie on her tongue, just as there always was when someone asked that. The truth was that there was _always_ something--or some _one_ \--bugging her. She bit back the lie and forced herself to be honest. It was for everyone’s best interest, after all.

“I…er, uh. Hm…” _How the_ hell _do I explain this?_ “Remember the demon thing?”

Sunset nodded, not liking where this was going already.

“Right, well, _my_ demon causes me a lot of… internal struggle. She’s not fond of people. Less fond of me and I’ve been dealing with her for almost forty years now.”

“Forty years? Dang, I probably would have kicked her out by now.” Sunset said, realizing that the demon side of them was separate from the rest.

She couldn’t help it, really she couldn’t. She wished she could have--it wasn’t a very polite thing to do after all--but she couldn’t. Alice burst out laughing at the other girl’s words. It wasn’t so much that it was _funny_ \--it wasn’t--but the _phrasing_ set her off. Something about the way Sunset said it was strikingly comedic.

“That’s not--” she tried to stifle her giggles behind her hand--“that’s not how that _works_!” she squealed, violet tears spilling from the corners of her eyes.

“I know,” Sunset giggled, “but it was funny, at least a little.”

Alice nodded quickly. “ _Very_.”


	3. Questionnaire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which many questions are raised, and most are answered.

###  **1**

“So, who exactly is Robert?” Sunset asked as she and the others ate dinner.

“ _Mm!_ ” Jet exclaimed through a mouthful of food, much to everyone else’s disgust. He chewed, swallowed, and began speaking so quickly a normal person (i.e., someone that didn’t speak Jet) wouldn’t be able to understand him. “He’s our friend from a long time ago that helped Ma write us and he wrote a bunch of other ink monsters but a lot of them are really crazy and scary and evil so he keeps them locked away in their books so that they don’t hurt anyone and--”

“ _Jet_!” Ashley scolded. “Slow the hell down, man, you’ll give someone a frickin’ brain-spasm or something.”

“It’s okay, Ashley,” Sunset said. “My friend Pinky speaks like that sometimes, so I’m used to getting those kinds of responses and understanding them.”

_What the hell kind of name is “Pinky?”_ Ashley thought, eyes wide in disbelief. She leveled her expression back out before anyone noticed. “Odd name, eh? ‘Pinky?’ Kinda makes ya’ think of that old cartoon, right? With the two mice?” she said kindly enough, though there was a wry undertone to her words.

“In this world, it might be an odd name but in my world it’s actually pretty normal, just like your names are a little ‘odd’ to me,” Sunset replied, applying finger quotes to her second use of “odd.”

Nodding, Ashley went back to her mashed potatoes.

“Robbie will have a better idea of what we should do,” Alice promised. “He’s a smart man--even went to college!” She chose not to add that he only went for a BA in English, and had spent his life since then working with a children’s publisher. Some people found such things to be less than exceptional feats of intelligence.

“Okay, when will he be here? Because not to be mean, but the sooner I can get home the better,” Sunset had a frown on her face as she said this.

“I’ll call him as soon as we’re all done eating,” Jesse declared, wiping her mouth with her napkin. “I know he _used_ to eat supper around this time, so I figure he’ll be free in about half an hour or so.”

“Sounds like a plan to me,” Sunset responded as she went back to eating, though she didn’t seem all that happy. _Why do I feel like something is going to go wrong again?_

###  **2**

Hannah and her father had just finished eating when his cellphone rang.

“Yes?” Mr. Shivers said, holding the device slightly away from his ear. “Oh, hello, Jess, how are you?”

Hannah perked up at the mention of her almost-aunt’s name. “Jess?” she asked excitedly.

“Hang on, Hannah.” Shivers ordered, holding an index finger up in her direction. _Wait, Hannah_ , _wait_.

_I’m_ always _waiting_ , she thought bitterly. For a brief moment, she considered sneaking out to drag Zach over to the park again.

“Alice and Jane did what?!” Shivers yelled in surprise, his eyes wide.

Hannah laughed, earning a glare from her father. “What?” she mouthed, shrugging. “You know how Alice gets.”

“Yes, well--yes, Jesse, I know she probably _meant well_ but--no, I know…”

Hannah, slightly amused by her father, was rather curious as to what her friends had done _this time_ . _What did you two do?_ She thought, grinning only _slightly_ mischievously. It really _had_ been too long since any of them got up to something. If only they’d let Hannah in on it first.

“Okay, Jess, I’ll be there as soon as I can. Bye.” Shivers said before hanging up. He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose as he let his hand fall from his ear. With a deep breath, he started toward his study. “Hannah, get your address book and put it out on the table in case you need it; I’m going out to the farm.”

“What?” Hannah asked sadly. “Why can’t I come with you?” She could only barely keep the attitude out of her voice. No need to piss him off after _yesterday’s_ fiasco. Especially with his current mood… Whatever this mood was, anyway.

“ _Because_ , Hannah,” he began, an over-exaggerated pause following. “I don’t need you getting yourself caught up in Alice’s cabin fever shenanigans.”

Hannah sighed, understanding _why_ her dad didn’t want her to go with him, but not liking it in the slightest. “ _Fine_.”

“Alright then.”

With that, he trudged up the stairs, mumbling something about ink monster luck. The phrase made her wince, but she contented herself with setting up a game on their Xbox.

A few minutes later, Shivers came back down the stairs, still mumbling to himself. “Alright, Hannah, I’ll be back in a few hours. Don’t stay up too late and _do not_ go next door or talk to that boy again,” He ordered, making his way to the front door.

“That is _so unfair_!” Hannah cried, dropping her controller into her lap. “What do you have against him?”

“I’m _not_ arguing about this with you right now, I am _leaving_ . Goodbye, and don’t answer the door for anyone!” With that, the heavy wooden front door _thunked_ closed behind him, the lock clicking loudly a moment after.

###  **3**

Robert pulled into their driveway like a bat out of hell--the man never had much respect for the speed limit when he was young, and it seemed that hadn’t changed. His car was parked and driver-less before someone could say, “Guacamole,” and he was meeting Jesse on the porch before she’d even had time to zip her coat up.

“Hey, Robbie. How have you been tonight?” she asked nervously, a grin fighting to take over her face. It was always something with the two of them, after all. She didn’t know what either of them thought would happen, settling within five miles of each other again.

“Hello, Jess,” Robert replied, “while I would love to say that I have been fine, I recently got a call from a friend saying that two of her daughters accidentally transported a being from another world into their yard.” Though he looked unimpressed, Robert had a small, _very small_ , smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

“I’m sorry,” the redhead sighed, crossing her arms against the autumn chill. “I know it’s always _something_ with them, huh? Last week, Jet almost set the house on fire over a _board game_ , so imagine how I feel--I _live with them_ , remember.” she joked.

“Ah, yes, but _I’m_ the one who you always call to help clean up their messes, aren’t I?” he countered, a finger in the air. “Where is she?”

Before Jess could respond, the door opened. Stepping outside were Jet, Alice, and Sunset, the former two wearing nervous expressions on their faces.

“Hey, Robbie,” Alice said shyly, waving at him from behind her brother. “I just wanted to say that I’m sorry. I was only trying to--”

“Yes, yes, Alice, I know, I know. Your mother has already informed me. Now--” he clapped his hands and turned his full attention to the girl with the yellow hair--“ _you_ must be Miss Shimmer, yes? I am Mr. Shivers--” he ignored the snickering from the two ink monsters--“but you may call me ‘Mr. Shivers.’ Pleased to make your acquaintance, but I’ll be even happier when you are no longer _here_.”

“Normally, I’d be slightly offended, but to be honest I agree. I _have_ to get home ASAP before something happens back home,” Sunset replied, sensing a lot of evil on the man, but not coming _from_ him. _Why are you covered in darkness?_ She asked herself, slightly worried.

“He’s like this with everybody, don’t take offense to it,” Jet stated, not bothering to hide his amusement. “He’s a big softie once you get to know him. Ain’tcha, _Jovial Bob_?”

“You, doll-boy, shut. _Up_ .” Shivers demanded, poking a finger into his chest. “Jess, will you do us _all_ a favor and make some coffee. I know _I’m_ gonna need it.”

“Sure,” she agreed. “You kids wanna come back in?”

Sunset thought for a moment before saying, “Actually, I think I might go for a walk, have a little look around.” _If I’m stuck here, I might as well find the Keyhole. And whatever has him covered in darkness._

“Alright, do you want these guys to show you around so you don’t get lost?” the mother asked. “They’ve got this place mapped out like a damn _warzone_ , I swear it!” she chuckled.

“I’d be okay with that,” Alice said amicably. Jet nodded his agreement. _I don’t know how Ashley will feel, but…_

“Sure, but if Ash comes with us I just hope nothing is said to peeve us off. She’s about the only one out of you six that I _do not_ feel confident enough to get into a fight with.”

Jet laughed, his shoulders shaking with the force. “Yeah, you stick with that mentality.”

“Right,” Alice mumbled, squeezing past the adults and into the house. “ _Ash, c’mere, we’re going for a walk!_ ”

“ _Okay!_ ”

“ _And bring me my book!_ ”

“ _Alright, stop shouting in the house!_ ”

“ _Alright_ !” Alice turned back to her brother and said, “ _Den tha diarkoúse._ ”

“ _Xéro_.” Jet replied, smirking.

“ _Dokímasé me,_ ” Sunset replied cockily.

Stunned speechless--not to mention a hefty dose of _humiliated_ \--Alice and Jet bit their cheeks and turned away from her, trying to hide their matching smiles. If they couldn’t send her home tonight, she’d fit in perfectly with their odd little household, that was for sure.

_Besides_ , Alice thought wryly, _Sunset seems to need someone to fight with more often. It’d be good for her ego to get put on her ass by one of us._

Sunset smirked. “So you think one of you could drop me, huh?”

Alice froze, heat quickly rising to her face. “Uh…” she mumbled, stepping behind her brother. “It’s just… I mean-- _eventually_ , at least, right?” she cracked, grinning despite the embarrassment. “It might take me a couple tries, ya’ know? But I’m sure I could _eventually_.”

“Eventually,” Sunset replied with a smirk, “but probably not first try. Chances are, you guys have _never_ seen someone fight how I fight.”

Jet and Jesse shared a look of befuddlement before shrugging. “Alright,” Jet sighed dramatically, “Let’s stop the _catfight_ and get moving. Ash’ll be down in a second; she can catch up with us at the gate.”

“Oh, shut up, Jet!” Alice snapped, smile still in place. Ashley hopped off the last step as she spoke.

“What’d I miss?” the redhead whispered to Stine.

“I have no idea,” he muttered, shaking his head. “Go have fun--be careful.”

The demons nodded, as did the twins. “You ready?” Alice asked Sunset. “I’m thinking we’ll just walk into town, look around some to pass the time. I need a new phone charger, anyway, so I’ll probably pop into the general store or something.”

“Yeah, I’m ready,” Sunset replied, still smirking. “And we can fill Ash in on what she just missed along the way.”

###  **4**

Zach had been working on his math homework for the last hour and a half. Algebra was likely his most taxing class so far, and _boy_ did Mr. Sanders love homework!

“What is X?” he mumbled, skimming the tip of his pencil over the word problem he was fighting. “Wait… _where_ is X?”

It didn’t help that the wind kept rattling his window, but at least that he was learning to tune out.

“Where is--”

A loud, blood-curdling scream cut him off. He jumped up from his desk. That woman had sounded disturbingly like Hannah. But there was no way, right? Surely her dad wasn’t _that_ crazy?

He looked out his window to the house next door. He could see a handful of lights in various windows, and there was someone moving around on the bottom floor. No, two people, maybe. There was the sound of breaking glass, splintering wood, and then… nothing.

The window he was staring at went dark, then another, and another. Soon, the entire house was silent and lifeless.

“Hannah,” Zach whispered, blood rushing in his ears. He ran downstairs and flung himself out the door. It was quicker to scale the fence, so he did, and soon he was pounding a fist on the Shivers’ front door until it opened.

“Is Hannah--” he started, expecting to see Mr. Shivers. He was both startled and relieved to be greeted by Hannah, her hair tied up in a ponytail and a bowl of steaming popcorn in her hand. “Hey,” he said lamely.

“Hi…?” she replied, eyeing him confusedly. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine,” he rushed, gulping past his dry throat. “What was--I heard a--”

“Loud scream?” she interrupted. Zach nodded, brows furrowed. “Sorry, that’s my fault,” she explained sheepishly. “Dad’s kinda obsessed with audio equipment, so horror movies are theater-level noisy.”

Nodding slowly, Zach realized how dumb he must look. _Why_ , exactly, had he thought she was being attacked, anyway? “That sounds--cool.” he stuttered. “Really cool, um… Yeah. I’m just gonna--” he pointed back to his house, turning to leave.

“Wanna come in?” Hannah asked suddenly. “I can make more popcorn if you want. We’ve got a bunch of movies to choose from, so it doesn’t have to be scary.”

Zach gaped at her for a moment, then smiled. “Uh, I mean. I don’t think your dad--”

“He’s visiting a friend,” she interjected. “Won’t be home for a few hours.”

“Alright, well…” he weighed his options, shrugging before he agreed. “Just let go tell my mom.”

She nodded. “If you want, I can invite a few of my friends over. Or you can call over some of yours.” she offered, popping a handful of popcorn into her mouth.

“Uh, actually, I think that’d be cool.” he grinned, turning to leave again. “I’ll be back over in a few minutes, then.”

“Okay. I’ll make some more popped-corn, then,” she stated, shutting the door.

Zach walked around the fence this time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations for scene 3, from Greek to English:  
> "Den tha diarkoúse" roughly translates to "She would not last."  
> "Xéro" means "I know."  
> "Dokímasé me" means "Try me."  
> Neither of us are fluent in Greek, so if something isn't right, please let us know so we can correct it!
> 
> Next one starts on the action! ;) And keep an eye out for the next chapter of "Crossroads" to drop, if you're interested. - Gemma.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are greatly appreciated!
> 
> Similar works by us:
> 
> The "King of Dreams" series by Gemma Winchester (PrincessGemma12), as well as its off-shoot "Closet AU."  
> An unposted fic by Custom_Key that will added here soon.


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